If you had to work in one store, which store would it be?

Sure, most people would choose their favourite brand with the thought of an employee discount in mind, whereas others would be more pragmatic. Working at a bookstore would provide a chill atmosphere and learned customers to have inspiring discussions about books with. At a garden store and you’d get to walk around, watering plants, amidst the tranquility of nature – with plenty of sweet elderly customers to chat to on a quiet weekday.

Because if you don’t consider the brand, don’t consider the discount, there are a couple of types of store that would be most people’s worst nightmare: a grocery store and a clothing store.

Why? Because generally people aren’t going to these places because they want to: they’re going because they have to. They have to buy groceries, they have to wear clothes, and within these stores are plenty of people huffing and puffing around, moving items and putting them back where they don’t belong, dragging their kids and other halves around, while really no one is enjoying the experience.

Least of all the staff, who are having to remain cheery with them, in a fast-paced and sometimes frustrating atmosphere. And that’s before you even mention the holidays.

The shoe store sales associate in this story was doing their best, even taking on extra training in time for the holidays. But then came one day that really made them ask the question: what is wrong with customers?

Read on to find out what happened.

“She just wants to see her friend!”

I work at a large shoe chain as a sales associate, and I have recently started training as a cashier for Black Friday.

At about 6:30 a woman came running (yes, running) into the store with a bag of shoes to exchange, and came to the register to talk to me.

She said, “I really need to exchange these shoes! They are a size 7, and I need a size 6.”

I replied, “Alright ma’am no problem! You can go look and see if we have the shoes you need and come back up when you’re ready to check out.”

Let’s see what happened when the woman came back to the cash register.

I then checked out the two people in line, before the woman returned empty handed.

The woman said, “You don’t have them in my size!” To which I responded, “Oh! I am sorry about that! I can order then and have them shipped to you if you’d like!”

Then she yelled at me, “NO. I AM GOING TO FLORIDA IN TWO DAYS AND I NEED THE SHOES!”

I replied, “Ma’am, I’m not exactly sure what you want me to do.” To this she said, “Just return them.”

But the cashier never expected what they’d find in the bag.

She turned around to look at the socks behind her, and I noticed that her bag was from another retailer, and has two other boxes in it from brands we don’t carry. I then looked at the box.

I said, “Ma’am, I’m afraid I can’t return these. First, the shoes are grey and a size 7, but the box is for white size 9. Secondly, there is a sticker for the price of the shoes at (other retail store) right here.”

Still she insisted, “I BOUGHT THESE HERE. THIS IS ALL RIGHT. I KNOW IT IS.”

There is now a good size line forming.

Read on to find out how the cashier dealt with this odd situation.

I asked her, “alright, well do you have the receipt?”

She told me, “I don’t keep those.” To which I said, “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for you then. Have a nice night!”

The woman then left in a fit, and later returned with the correct box.

But, because she doesn’t have the receipt, we can only offer her in-store credit which infuriates her so she leaves.

However, the story wasn’t over there.

Now the best/worst part of the night.

The store closes at 7, but we had group of three in there about to leave at around 7:10, when someone knocked on the door. A man walked over to the door, while my manager was walking to the front.

The man said, “Don’t worry! I’ll let her in!” To which my manager replied, “Sir, please do not do that. You could easily cost me my job.”

The man proceeded to unlock the door, despite everyone asking him not too. He said, “She just wants to see her friend!”

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The girl was returning a pair of boots. We left an hour late.

What. A. Day.

It’s true that you never really know what is coming when you’re dealing with the general public.

The day can start off great, before turning into… this.

Let’s see what the Reddit community made of this.

This person would not have coped with the man at the tail end of the working day.

While others suggested a firmer approach.

Meanwhile, this retail worker offered some holiday solidarity.

If working in retail is a nightmare, working in retail over the holidays is something else entirely. Not just dealing with awkward customers, but dealing with awkward customers who have places to be, time sensitive gifts to buy, their patience eroding with every Christmas song they hear.

It’s fine to remember that you’re inadvertently spreading holiday joy, but when you’re having to break up fights between customers over the last price-slashed TV or dealing with aisles full of screaming children as their parents frantically shop, it’s bound to test your patience.

So spare a thought for the retail employees that you’re driving bonkers over the holiday season – and show a little respect for their working hours at least. Because if you’re arriving at a store at or after closing time and expecting them to deal with your returns, there is one word for you: selfish.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a cashier who gave her phone number to be friendly to a guest, but immediately wished she could take it back.